24 Fitness Marketing Strategies To Grow Your Gym or Training Business

Marketing your gym (or personal trainer business) can be easy —

IF you have enough tried-and-true fitness marketing strategies to use on the regular!

That’s why I put together 24 gym marketing ideas you can use starting NOW to generate more new clients!

Here you go —

1. Stop blending in with your competitors

Let’s be honest:

There’s NO shortage of gyms and fitness options out there.

From at-home workout systems to pills that promise freedom from working out ever again, to mega-corporate gyms complete with cafes —

You’ve got competition!

That’s why before you spend ANY money on marketing strategies for gyms, you must come up with the #1 reason WHY your prospects should choose you vs. your competition.

I’m talking about your Unique Selling Proposition (USP), which tells prospects:

• Who you are
• What specific (or special) services you provide
• How you do fitness and health BETTER
• And why you’re in business

DON’T skip this…

FREE report: How to write a Unique Selling Proposition that catcalls in 2 minutes

Why?

You’re going to saturate ALL of your fitness marketing with it.

Here’s where you’ll use your USP:

• Your website
• Your fitness postcards
• Brochures
• Business cards
• Social media pages, posts, and ads
• Basically any gym marketing you do!

Marketing without defining your USP is akin to shouting into a crowd of 1 million people…

You just NEED to stand out.

So nail down your USP, and then you’re ready for this next essential…

2. Look like THE coolest gym or fitness club in town

You need professional logo (if you don’t have one already) that screams:

“We help you look and feel awesome!”

Isn’t that what you’re trying to do?

Your logo needs to convey that from first glance.

Plus, a professional logo:

• Helps you look like a professional trustworthy business
• Creates NAME (and image) recognition

Both of which amount to more leads, sales, and loyal customers.

Something like this:

Or this:

If your gym already has a legit logo, great!

But if your club, fitness studio, or personal training business looks amateur, you WON’T attract quality prospects who will pay to stay with you for the long-run!

See PostcardMania’s Affordable Professional Logo Design Services Here

Plus:

With a professionally-designed logo, you can feel confident using it on your fitness marketing materials (like fitness postcards) to easily (and inexpensively) boost your branding and professional appeal.

Just check out these prices:

• Refrigerator magnet- literally pennies!
• Pens- just 99 cents
• Aluminum water bottles- start at just $2.00 each
• eos lip balm- $2.95 each
• Fitness towels- various prices
• Branded shirts for your staff- $6 each
• Car magnet-$8 each
• Professional logo design-$995

Those prices are definitely worth it for consistent, show-it-everywhere fitness marketing!

Unfortunately…

Many business owners skip this brand-creation step when starting out—

Yet it’s part of why they stay small and don’t generate enough new leads on a consistent basis.

Another BIG reason is that they aren’t doing enough marketing, like using gym postcards!

3. Create a killer special offer that attracts people to come in

A special offer has 2 major functions in your fitness marketing campaign:

• Enticing prospects to try out your gym or services
• Rewarding current customers and ensuring future loyalty

So a special offer is not an afterthought for your gym marketing…

It’s a way to inspire prospects and customers to try what you’ve got!

But listen up:

If you’re worried that discounting your services won’t make sense for your bottom line, remember this:

The idea behind special offers is you want to drive in LOTS of people to your business.

Once you service and WOW these prospects, you’ll have more people to upsell and turn into loyal customers.

So your special offer must be enticing enough to attract calls, leads, and eventual memberships.

Here are some special offers PROVEN to work for fitness and gym ads:

• FREE Trial Membership (7-30 days)
• Discount on membership packages (month-to-month, 6 months for $99, 12 months for $99)
• FREE gym services (classes, tanning, equipment orientation, personal fitness plan)

Another smart idea:

Grab this FREE download with more gym promotion ideas than you can dream up:

FREE report: 128 special offers proven to create leads AND sales!

Now that you have a USP (#1) and a special offer your prospects will jump at, here’s what to do next…

4. Market consistently throughout the year to steadily create new leads (and clients)

People need to work out throughout the entire year (not just after the sugar-laden holidays)…

Which means by marketing all year long, you could easily generate new clients every single week!

The key to generating a steady stream of leads (and new clients):

CONSISTENCY — one of the main elements of successful fitness marketing!

Realize this:

People need you already.

YOU just need to remind them to come in and try YOU (vs. your competitors!).

Whichever fitness marketing ideas you try, remember these 2 rules for winning the grow-your-gym game:

• Reach prospects first
• Reach prospects OFTEN

Aka:

Start planning — and running — your year-long fitness marketing campaigns to stay in front of your prospects (and customers) with your USP (#1) and cut-like-knife professional logo (#2).

Wonder how much you should spend on your gym marketing??

Plug-and-play your numbers in this:

FREE download: Use this EASY Marketing Budget Calculator

5. Target your ideal prospects to generate $9,600 in revenue

If you want to avoid wasting money with your gym marketing, you need to hone in on WHO you want to attract in your front door.  

Here’s what I mean:

Mailing fitness postcards to every single person in your ENTIRE city can get expensive — and FAST — especially if you live in a densely populated area, like Los Angeles, for example.

So, narrow your focus.

CHOOSE your prospects (and therefore, future gym members)!

Consider this:

Who exactly is your BEST, ideal client?

To answer this question just look at your current clients (the ones who’ve been coming to you for years and years and who are a joy to have around!).

See which kinds of individuals and/or partnerships net you the most clients and ongoing revenue.

Yes, could mail gym postcards to everyone in your city. After all, it’s obvious everyone needs to work out!

But, I’m guessing you want your gym marketing to actually GROW your business, right?

So evaluate WHO your ideal clients are and mail gym postcards to folks JUST like them.

That way you’re only paying to advertise to people who will become clients and stick and stay.

List out the characteristics of your ideal clients (income, geography, individual vs. business, etc.), and then buy a targeted mailing list.

You can run a free mailing list count of prospects here.

Don’t take my word for it…

Mailing gym postcards generated this fitness club 3 new clients right off the bat, plus $9,600 in revenue.

Here’s their design:

Speaking of bottom-line-boosting postcards…

6. Use this time-tested marketing tool to generate instant responses (& sign-ups!)

Direct mail remains a time-tested fitness marketing tool — yes, even in our digital age!

Consider these numbers:

• 79% of consumers say they open direct mail immediately
• 54% of consumers say they prefer direct mail marketing the most

Plus:

Check out the response rates of common marketing channels, according to the Direct Marketing Association:

DIRECT MAIL:

• 26% response to customer list
• 44% response to prospect list

EMAIL:

• 12% response to customer list
• 03% response to prospect list

DISPLAY ADS:

• 00% response to customer list
• 04% response to prospect list

PAY PER CLICK:

• 00% response to customer list
• 22% response to prospect list

Which is to say:

Fitness postcards WORK.

And gym postcards are cost-effective because:

• You can target only your IDEAL prospects by neighborhood and/or demographics
• Recipients see your message without having to open their mail (time saving!)
• You save $$$ on postage when you mail postcards rather than enveloped letters

For example…

When AnyTime Fitness were preparing for their gym’s grand opening in Fort Myers, FL, they mailed 5,000 postcards…

From just ONE mail blast, they generated:

• 20 responses
• 4 new memberships
• $2,400 in revenue from these 4 sign-ups
• And that was only the beginning!

You can read their case study here.

Interested in using fitness postcards to promote your gym or club?

Order a FREE sample pack today so you can check them out in person — we’ll deliver them straight to you!

7. Use an online scheduling service for easy appointments

People not only like using online scheduling services (vs. making phone calls), but in our digital world today, they expect them.

Using an at-your-finger-tips scheduling software, prospects and clients can register for classes online — even directly from their smart phones.

Automatic, online class registrations give YOU the benefit of seeing instantly how many registrants you have for special classes or introductory free-trial offers at your gym.

Plus:

Having an online scheduling service instantly makes your gym look cutting-edge and hip to tech trends.

Here are a few you can check out:

• Motionsoft Gym Software
• MindBody
• Virtuagym
• WellnessLiving
• Vagaro
• PerfectGym

Some softwares even allow people to pay for services online (such as, if you offer tanning, personal trainer services, or have class fees).

8. Update your online listings to reach 93% of online prospects

As many as 93% of all online experiences begin with a search engine, according to SearchEngine Journal. That’s almost ALL of them.

But this isn’t really surprising, right? How many times DO you google for things each week?

This means that many of the people who receive your fitness postcards will search for you by name and head directly to your website.

Also:

Many of your prospects will simply search online for what they need, like:

“Best gym in [your town].”

They’ll see several listings, many of which will be search-and-review sites, like:

Google

Yelp

Angie’s List

Yellow Pages

Make sure you’re listed on those sites, too — and that your business profile is,

• Correct
• Up-to-date
• And filled with photos of your club and chiseled staff!  

Or…

You risk LOSING all of those prospects to your competitors.

Remember:

Don’t just sign up for these online review accounts and think you’re done…

Keeping your listing current means setting aside time to upload new photos regularly and asking your happy customers to leave you a review on the site. This is a perfect side job for your receptionist, by the way! 

After you’re done updating your online listings, you need to address your website…

9. Capture some of the 95% of leads visiting your website

Your website isn’t just a place for interested prospects to visit you online…

It’s actually a MAJOR part of your overall marketing strategy.

Consider this:

95% of your prospects will visit your website before making any decision to buy from you (or not).

So your gym’s website must clearly communicate the following:

• Who you are
• Which services/classes/perks you provide
• That you’re not just a gym but a place to get healthy
• And how to contact you (and make this OBVIOUS!)

If your website seems confusing or cluttered, your prospects won’t stay on it long enough to figure out how to contact you, and they’ll just leave and onto the next (meaning, your competitor!).

Here’s a good one:

See that professional logo in the upper left hand corner? Definitely unique and unforgettable!  

One of my favorite things about this gym marketing website how their special offer is easy to see (and take advantage of)!

If your website isn’t set up to generate you leads (and sales), it’s basically a fat waste of money…

Which brings me to this next point:

10. Avoid losing 96% of hard-earned leads with fill-in forms on your website

You’ve gone to the trouble (and expense) to generate a lead with your gym postcards or other gym marketing ideas. Again, the MAJORITY (about 95%!!) of those people are headed straight for your website.

But 96% of those visitors are not yet ready to become a customer, according to Kissmetrics.

So what then?

They leave your website and go on with their lives…

But when they’re ready to confront joining a gym, will they remember YOU?

Maybe — or maybe not.

To maximize your fitness marketing dollars, you need to capture the IDENTITY of those interested prospects (meaning, all of them!), so you can follow up with them regularly and therefore, ensure your prospects never forget you.

That way, when they want to join a gym or club, they don’t hesitate to call YOU!

How do you “capture” your leads??

With a lead capture form, like this one:

Lead capture forms work because online visitors don’t need to hunt for a way to contact you —

They enter their details directly into that lead capture form…

Which should ideally be “ABOVE the fold” (meaning, above the point where someone would have to scroll down to read more). So it’s front and center and RIGHT THERE to fill out!!

This is “above the fold” on a website:

Prospects don’t have time to figure out how to contact you. Especially when your competitor is just 1 click away!

So make sure your lead capture form:

• Uses an eye-catching color that makes it POP out (easier to see!)
• Features only a couple fields (the less someone has to fill out, the more likely they’ll contact you)
• Includes your special offer — such as, 1 week of FREE workouts!  

Now that you know your prospects WILL visit your website, and you’re going to ensure you have a lead capture form on your website, here are even more gym marketing ideas:

11. Nail your Google listing to generate FREE leads from Google

Register for a FREE Google Business Profile account. It’s how you’ll update your Google listing for your business, meaning…

This:

Here’s why you need to use your Google listing:

When someone googles for a gym like yours (or even for YOUR gym directly), one of the first things Google shows them is your Google business listing (like the one above).

Your Google listing can (and should) show pictures of your gym (including people working out) along with all information googlers want to see right off the bat — your reviews being a MAJOR one.

All this information gets pulled from the data YOU enter in and manage from your Google Business Profile account.

So you need to make sure you have this data entered correctly, specifically:

• Your business’s actual name
• Address (Google will verify it by sending you a postcard)
• Phone number
• Hours of operation
• Category of your business.

You’ll also manage and respond to any Google reviews from your Google Business Profile account — more on why that’s important in #11.

Make sure you keep ALL your contact information updated in your Google Business Profile account since inaccurate information about you will actually prevent Google from bringing up your business in searches.

Meaning, your business may end up showing up LESS in Google searches —

Which is NOT what we want considering Google is the #1-used search engine in the U.S!

So if your address OR hours change (like for holidays) make sure to update it in Google Business Profile.

Nothing is more annoying for prospects to look you up on Google, drive to your business, and discover that you’re actually closed when your information on Google said you were open.

Another benefit to keeping your business’s information totally up-to-date is you’ll be found easier on Google Maps, which 86% of people use to find the location of a business.

When someone uses Google Maps to search for a gym close to them, your correct and updated information on the internet (definitely including in Google Business Profile) will enable your ranking in Google Maps to be higher than those other business owners who didn’t take the time.

See these 3 gyms in Austin?

At the time of writing this, those are the 3 gyms that automatically pop up in Google Maps when someone searches for “Austin gyms” in Google.

Now take a look at this:

Google Maps results show up even BEFORE organic results…

Meaning, prospects see Google Maps results on top when they search on Google.

See:

The first organic listing for a gym in the above gym search comes AFTER those Google Maps results.

So remember:

Google LOVES consistency.

So just keep your business’s information updated across anywhere it’s listed online:

• Google
• Yelp
• Angie’s List
• Expertise
• Yellow Pages
• Your social media pages
• Your website
• The BBB

 And work on getting TONS of positive reviews too (coming up in #13!).

12. Reach 79% of potential customers on Facebook

Facebook marketing is becoming more and more popular every year, and with good reason.

According to Pew Research:

• 79% of online Americans are on Facebook
• That’s 68% of ALL Americans
• 75% of them go on the site every day
• Users spend an average of 50 minutes per day on Facebook

In other words:

It’s a huge opportunity for your fitness marketing!  

However:

Many business pages’ organic reach (that’s how many people you can reach for free) have declined sharply. For some, it’s as low as 2 PERCENT, and taking into account Facebook’s January 2018 newsfeed changes, you can pretty much say “so long!” to your page’s posts being seen by your prospects for free.

That means you have to pay up for an ad, like this:

I recommend running Facebook ads at the same time you’re mailing your fitness postcards (#6).

Here’s why:

You can match your Facebook ad’s special offer (#3) and design with that of your fitness postcards campaign.

Like this:

Whether your prospects receive your fitness postcards in the mail OR they see your matching ads on Facebook, they see ONE cohesive marketing message.

Plus, get this:

If you’re mailing your gym postcards to all the homeowners in, say, Denver, CO, you can then target those same exact people (meaning, the people on your mailing list) on Facebook, too — at the exact SAME time.

Amazing, right?

This coordination of mailing gym postcards plus simultaneously showing matching ads online in Facebook newsfeeds gives your prospects the perception that your business is everywhere and the #1 gym in your area.

Called Everywhere Small Business, your business can simultaneously target prospects with:

• Direct mail
• Google ads (across thousands & thousands of internet websites)
• Facebook ads
• AND receive access to your own client dashboard to SEE your results!

YOU don’t have to do anything.

Essentially your marketing will be shown EVERYWHERE your prospects already spend the vast majority of their time, generating the following:

• Calls to your business (that we track for you)
• Clicks to your website (we track these too!)
• Millions of online impressions (eyes on YOUR gym ads)
• Essentially MORE leads with ZERO effort from you.

Watch the Everywhere Small Business video to see how exactly this program can rocket your gym marketing at just pennies extra per piece.

Since prospects will be seeing your advertising all over the internet, you’ll need #13 in place too…

13. Use Google reviews as 90% trust and act on them

When your prospects see positive reviews, they’re 90% more likely to trust and contact you.

Plus:

People are more likely to click on a business’s website when its Google reviews are positive, meaning those golden star ratings you see!

Google has trained us to recognize that stars = ratings, and the more, the better!

Read these:

• Star rating is the #1 factor used by consumers to judge a business
• Stars in search engine results increase the # of clicks to your business by up to 35%

So the game becomes:

Get LOTS of 4- and 5-star reviews of your business online!!

Here are some ways to do that:

• Have your staff tell clients they’d appreciate a review
• Make sure clients know HOW to leave a Google review
• Add a link in your email signature
• Send gentle email reminders that you’d appreciate a review
• Post a sign (or 2) at your front desk

Make sure to grab this report to share with your staff so they understand your strategy to increase your gym’s number of Google reviews:

FREE report: How to get more positive Google reviews to promote your business

Whenever you’re done helping a client, tell them you’d appreciate a review online if they’ve enjoyed their time at your gym.

Also:

You MUST take the time to respond to negative reviews.

Any bad review online, left ignored, can turn into a hidden lead killer.

Here’s how to handle that:

When you spot a negative review online, make sure to urgently comment on it and respond with a sincere apology. Offer to remedy whatever occurred that was dissatisfactory with their experience at your gym.

The LAST thing you need is a disgruntled person bad-mouthing your business.

So handle the review well, and they could turn into a happy client!

But:

Even if the client can’t be satisfied no matter what you offer or do, your response online will at least show prospects that you care enough to communicate and try to help.

In fact —

30% of consumers will look at how you handle negative reviews online before deciding whether to try out your business — or not.

So it’s worth your time!!

14. Ask for referrals since 92% of people trust them

According to a report by Nielsen, 92% of people trust referrals from people they know.

So you need to get your clients promoting YOUR gym to their friends and family members, thus generating you FREE leads.  

How do you do this?

Offer your clients something valuable in exchange for referring people to your gym.

Kind of like the special offer I mentioned in #3, people are more inclined to do something if there’s an incentive on the table.

Here are a few examples of what you could offer in exchange for referrals:

• FREE smoothie or juice (if you have a café on site)
• Discount (% or $ off) your shop (if you have one)
• FREE towels for 1 month
• Gift certificate to juice bar or tanning salon in your town
• FREE 2-hour personal training session
• FREE yoga class
• $5 off local organic café
• FREE gym t-shirt
• $ off membership fees

The list could go on forever!

But you get the idea…

A referral from an existing happy client is essentially a FREE lead for your gym. Plus, it’s a member likely to stick and stay if their pal is already exercising with you! 

Working to generate referrals = a bona fide referral program for your gym!

Here’s how to promote your referral program:

• Show it on your website with a special graphic
• Promote it on social media
• Have referral hand-out cards (for easy promotion)
• Post signs at your front desk
• Post signs in your locker room
• Get your staff talking about it to clients!

Seriously, NOT starting and using a referral program is just plain ignoring potential leads that just need to be asked for!

15. Attract 75% more of your potential customers with Google Pay-Per-Click ads

As I mentioned before in #8, 93% of online experiences start with a search engine.

Unfortunately, only 75% of those people will scroll past the first page of results, according to HubSpot.

With Google Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising, your fitness marketing appears above both the Google Maps results AND the organic listings when people search for your services.

Here’s what I’m talking about:

What’s great about PPC is that you ONLY pay when someone clicks on your gym ads!

What’s not so great is that it’s complicated.

You can easily waste money on unqualified clicks (when people click on your gym ads so you have to pay, but they’re not qualified leads who are likely to turn into memberships).

With PPC ads, you bid on keywords, like “best gyms” or “24-hour gyms.” Google AdWords (Google’s PPC platform) will suggest a bid for you, but you can actually bid however much you want.

Your cost per click is determined by many factors — your bid being just one — such as:

• How relevant Google thinks your website is to your targeted keyword
• “Dwell time” on your website (how long visitors stay there once they click on your gym ads)
• Your conversion rate (how many visitors take your desired action, such as filling out your lead capture form (#9!))

Again — it can get complicated.

FREE report: How to do Pay-Per-Click yourself (and not waste money)

When you’re first starting out with PPC, I recommend setting a budget (say, $15 a day) and playing around with your gym ads to see what gets the best results.

Remember:

The most clicks isn’t necessarily the best result. You PAY for each click (hence the name PAY-PER-CLICK). You want to make sure those clicks are converting into leads!

Here are a couple of tips:

• Create a dedicated landing page for each ad that is a clear continuation of the message on your ad (if your ad says “$0 sign-up fees!!” but your landing page says “5% off,” people will click away faster than you can say “Good-bye, lead!”
• Make sure your landing page has a lead capture form (#9)
• Add call extensions to your ads (either your phone number or a “click to call” button for mobile ads) and the people who are ready to call can do so without you being charged for the click!

Honestly…

Managing a PPC campaign can feel like a full-time job —

But as a business owner, you already have one (or 10).

So, it’s honestly probably worth it to hire a PPC professional to do it for you.

You can use PostcardMania’s PPC management services here.

16. Create a video of your services for 80% more leads

Get a professional video made that clearly shows prospects a before/after visual of what exercising at your gym is like.

Remember —

You’re selling an EXPERIENCE and a feeling of confidence —

Not dumb bells and protein bars.  

So a motion-filled video with pumped-up music and a panorama of your gym (filled-to-the-brim with people) will SHOW prospects what they can expect from you.  

Simply put —

People LOVE videos.

Just check out these stats on video marketing:

• Increases (FREE) traffic from search engines to your website by up to 157%
• Using video on a landing page can increase leads by 80%
• Visitors stay on websites 88% longer when there’s video to watch

I recommend getting a video made that introduces your space to newcomers by giving them a tour (in under 3 minutes ideally).

This is a neat one of a CA gym that has climbing walls, jiu-jitsu, spinning, and more!  

Whether you create a video — or hire someone to do it for you (to save time) — you’ll want to use it on your website and social media.

17. Turn NEW movers into automatic new customers without lifting a finger

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, a little over 11% of the American population moves every year. Many of those people need new gyms close to their new homes!

With our New In Town program, you can reach new movers in your area every month without you even having to think about it, which makes it one of the easiest-to-implement fitness marketing ideas…

Here’s how it works:

• You tell us your target demographic and service area
• We design gym postcards for you
• Every month, we automatically send all new movers that fit your targeting criteria your gym postcards
• They call to redeem your offer, then you wow them with your service and sign up new clients!

Check out this:

Your gym postcards are personalized automatically with the first name of the recipient, so they take notice of your gym marketing — because they see their name!!

Here’s an example:

By automatically mailing to every new mover in your area, your gym or club can simply receive a steady stream of new clients, who live nearby, who want to get fit!

18. Use your blog to generate 4.5X more leads

Think a blog is optional for your marketing plan?

Get this:

Publishing helpful articles on your gym’s blog can actually generate up to 4.5 times more leads than businesses who don’t utilize this necessary resource, according to Hubspot.

Need fitness marketing ideas and tips to write about on your blog?

Listen to your current clients.

And answer these questions:

• What do your clients (and prospects) need help figuring out?
• What questions do they have about their health?
• What helpful content can you write about that’ll convince readers you’re an expert authority?
• What tips are you constantly giving to clients that you could publish online?
• What healthy recipes do friends ask you for constantly?

Your blog is factually a resource page where you answer FAQs.

FREE report: How to create a lead-generating blog step-by-step

Plus:

When you arm your gym marketing strategy with helpful content that you feature on your website’s blog, you’ll have a better chance of ranking higher on Google.

How?

By using keywords.

Make a list of keywords that your prospects may use when googling for a fitness club (just like yours), and include those keywords in both your blog and website pages. (Get your website designer to help you if needed!)

When a prospect googles for a gym like yours, Google will more likely suggest your website to that prospect if keywords used on your website mirror what your prospect entered into Google.

It’s essentially FREE SEO (search engine optimization) for your gym marketing.

19. Create a community (online AND offline)

Gyms are inherently community-driven…

People want and need group camaraderie to inspire them to keep going (especially when exercising after a long day’s work can seen like a drag).

So create a way prospects and current clients alike to feel like they belong to a group.

Here are a few ways to do that:

• Create a get-together weekly on Meetup.com (for prospects to find you)
• Host weekly healthy eating workshops at your gym
• Create a Facebook group related to your gym to share Paleo recipes on
• Host a monthly hiking group
• Host breathing classes for soon-to-be new parents

You can even bring in special speakers to your gym to share helpful tips on self-development, healthy eating, and more! (And you can promote this on your website, social media, and Meetup!)

Speaking of which…

20. Post pictures and videos on your social media profiles to help generate leads

Show off photos you have on the marketing channel where imagery RULES for generating engagement (clicks), meaning:

Social media!

After all, whether prospects are on Facebook or Instagram (or anywhere else for that matter), people LOOK and click when they see images.

Take a look at these Facebook statistics:

• 79% of the U.S. population uses Facebook
• 70% of Facebook users login DAILY
• 75% of users take action after seeing an Instagram advertising post

Plus:

Social media is a FREE way to get your gym promotion ideas out so people can see how much fun your gym is…

And you can drive clicks from social media right back to your website.

Here are some tips on what to post on social media:

• Pictures of your gym
• Before-and-after fitness transformations (who doesn’t love those?!)
• Photos of your staff smiling and looking friendly
• Special promotional ads (EASY to make even if you have 0 graphic design skills)
• Fun events you’re hosting (#19)
• Videos of clients or staff squatting 200 lbs.
• Any videos honestly!! (#16)

Make sure your phone number, business address, and website are all listed on your Facebook business page, Instagram profile, YouTube page (and any other channels) so it’s easy for prospects to contact you!

Speaking of which…

21. Reach out to other similar businesses and form partnerships

What other businesses specifically know prospects who need and want a gym?

How about these:

• Physical therapists
• Nutrition shops
• Health stores
• Sports shops
• Fitness clothing stores
• Chiropractors

Just to name a few!

FREE report: How to generate leads with a profitable win-win partnership

Plus:

If you’re not in the loop with your local Chamber of Commerce, this is a great place to rub elbows with other local businessmen and women too…

ALL of whom need to work out — or obviously know others who do!

Just make sure you have plenty of gym marketing materials on hand (branded, from #1) to hand out to people you meet or network with.

22. Improve your Google ranking with search engine optimization (SEO)

Search engines work by finding websites which match the keywords your prospects search with.

So if your prospects enter “[Your City] gym” (aka “Seattle gym”) your website will rank higher in Google to the degree that your website pages have the keywords “Seattle gym” in them (as well as other factors that are more complicated which we won’t get into detail on here).

To get your website found on Google, your website’s data must be accurate and filled with keywords your prospects use to find a business just like yours.

Again, make a list of these keywords using Google’s free keyword planner tool, and have your website guy (even if that’s you!) use them on the pages of your website — your homepage, your About Us page, etc.

But it’s NOT only keywords you need.

Here are some tips to increase your website’s SEO:

• Each page’s title (learn about page titles here) should be different
• Homepage’s page title should have “crossfit gym [your city, state]” or the like
• Your contact data (on your contact page) must be correct
• Your business’s data must be referenced (cited) on other popular web pages
• You should have and use a free Google Business Profile

SEO is NOT a one-shot deal — much like fitness marketing in general!

So word to the wise:

Steer clear of any company that claims to guarantee to get your website to #1 on Google in a short amount of time…

SEO is a continual process since Google and its algorithms (formulas) change all the time. That’s why getting collecting Google reviews and making sure your website is set up to capture leads is 100% worth your time (and it’s WAY less complicated too).

23. Close up to 80% more sales by automatically following up with leads

Here’s the deal:

The majority of the leads you generate will probably not close on the first attempt.

Here’s an example:

Let’s say you receive an email from someone directly from the contact form on your website.

This person’s reached out to you with some level of interest (even if it’s just a question)—

THAT’S a lead!

They’ve asked you how it works when hiring a personal trainer at your gym.  You answer their question, of course.

Then…

Silence.

You email them, maybe call them (if they provided a phone number), and still no word back.

No membership yet.

Now what?

NOW you follow up with them!

But instead of emailing and calling them every single day, you can use easy email marketing to automatically follow up with this lead for you.

In a free email marketing software, such as MailChimp for example, you can set up a simple campaign to automatically email leads so that you’re continually reaching out to them.

Smart, right?

Also called an “email drip campaign,” it works as one of the most successful gym marketing ideas by sending out emails on a predetermined schedule to prospects in a list that you create.

FREE report: Easily automate your email marketing to close up to 80% MORE sales

Instead of you remembering to manually email prospects on a set schedule, have your email marketing system do it for you.

Plus, you can use this same email marketing tool to send out monthly newsletters to your clients, making them feel like you care to keep them updated on things like:

• Special sales you have going on
• Personal trainer packages
• New or improved services you’re now offering
• Fitness success stories (with pictures!)
• Gift certificate specials

The idea is that the more prospects are followed up with consistently, the more likely they’ll remember YOUR gym (vs. any competition)…

And when someone remembers you, they’re MUCH more likely to contact and sign up with you when they’re ready.

If you want a done-for-you email marketing solution, you can use PostcardMania’s email marketing services.

24. Track your results like a gym marketing expert                                                                                                     

Only TRACKING will show you what parts of your gym marketing creates leads (and sales).

So — HOW do you track?

A new caller sheet is one way!

All you do is print off a stack of these sheets, give them to your receptionist (or keep them by your phone for whomever answers it), and ensure that each and every staff member knows to use them to:

• Gather ALL vital information from prospects calling in
• Find out what marketing they saw
• And ensure if they don’t book an appointment to come in, that you collect their email address to follow up with them

Another way to track:

Google Analytics — a free tool from Google that tracks the following:

• Who visits your website
• Where they’re from
• What pages they visit
• How long they stay there
• And WAY more!

FREE report: Easily set up Google Analytics for website tracking

Let’s say you mail out 5,000 gym postcards, and you check your Google Analytics account and notice 500 people visited your website, with 100 people landing and spending 1-2 minutes on your “About Us” page.

But… maybe only 5 people made it to your contact page to actually contact you and become real leads.

Here’s an idea:

Why not put a pop-up form or lead capture form on that “About Us” page to capture more of the leads — automatically by the way — who read all about you, and turn them into tangible leads!

Genius!

However — the most important metric to track?

Return on investment (ROI)!

The ultimate measurement of all your fitness marketing efforts = how much sales they generate for your business.

I’m always asked what response rate you can expect from your direct mail, and my reply is always the same:

You should be asking how much SALES your gym postcards can generate…

The answer?

It’s endless as long as you’re consistent with your marketing.

Case in point:

An exclusive, NYC private-training gym wanted to generate more new clients, and they decided to try postcards.

Their gym postcards worked!

Mailing month after month helped grow their clientele and revenue 20%-30%.

Watch their case study video here.

Honestly…

Consistency of marketing can make or break your campaign’s results (not to mention your budget) — read why here! So whatever fitness marketing you do, make it CONSISTENT, and you will see your business grow.

There you have it!

24 gym advertising ideas to grow your business.

Want to see some REAL gym marketing successes?

Here are just a few!

1.

RESPONSE: “Wrote 284 contracts and made $38k from the campaign!!” MAILING LIST: Purchased 15,425 records – age 18-55, income $20k+ MAILING SCHEDULE: Hit list a total of one time between January and March (mailing in increments)

2.

RESPONSE: “We got approximately 5 – 10 calls or drop-ins at the studio from each mailing. We also got 2 new personal training clients ($500 increase in revenue per month). The mailings have generated a lot of recognition and “buzz” within the community.”

MAILING LIST: Purchased 1,500 Records From the Surrounding Area MAILING SCHEDULE: Mailed 1,500 postcards 3x — about 4-6 weeks apart

3.

RESPONSE: “After 3 days of the cards being dropped, it had already paid for the whole cost of the cards I had ordered.”

MAILING LIST: Purchased 1,800 Records of Prospects in the Surrounding Area with an Income of $30K+

MAILING SCHEDULE: Mailed 1,8000 postcards 1x

4.

RESPONSE: 20 responses and 4 new sign-ups – So far $350 in sign-up fees plus $2400 projected after a year if all 4 sign-ups keep their memberships. They are still getting people coming in with the postcards two weeks after the event! MAILING LIST: Purchase 5,000 records – res/occ list within 1.5 miles of their location

MAILING SCHEDULE: 5,000 pieces 1x

For even more gym promotion ideas, check out gym postcards, ready for you to use!

And if you have questions about anything mentioned here, such as marketing with Everywhere Small Business, leave a comment or you can email me directly at Joy.Gendusa@PostcardMania.com.

Ready to start your marketing campaign? Call one of my experts at 800-628-1804 — the consultation is 100% FREE!

Best,

Joy